The Well Worn Road To The Champion Hurdle (2016)

granger said:
PandC will have nearly 20lb to find

I don't see how Faugheen would have to be at his best to beat him.
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Ratings mean very little when it comes to Champion Hurdles if they did how on earth did Arctic Fire mange to run Faugheen to 1 1/2 lengths last year when he was rated 12 lbs below him?

Are we to believe that Faugheen is now 15 lengths better than he was at Cheltenham or has Arctic Fire ran well below his Champion Hurdle form....I go for the latter.

The reasons I think Peace and Co can give Faugheen a better race than those he met today is his style of running and the man who trains him ability to get them right on the day.

Sizing up Peace and Co is extremely difficult and ratings can't tell you where he stands at the moment
but he is without a doubt a horse with loads of ability and bags of speed.

I know neither AF or NC have any chance of beating Faugheen but no one knows how good Peace and Co is because he has never been tested since his return.

Time will tell but at the odds he was and the odds he is now he is the best bet in the race by a country mile IMO







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EC1 said:
you mean multiple G1 winner Nicols Canyon..OHR 160..and Arctic Fire rated 169..who he just beat like they were B class handicappers.

Arctic Fire is anything but in and out at 2 miles..his form reads at 2 miles..3421233222..would be even better if he hadn't faced Faugheen...including being the current Champion Hurdler. He's certainly never had his arse handed to him by any horse like this over 2 miles...even faugheen in the past hasn't pasted him this bad.

not seeing how its anything but exceptional form..backed up by a very fast time.

if you aren't impressed with a win like that then you are going to see most races as disappointing tbh
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Oh come on EC, One day he's getting stuffed by Irving the next he's beating a champion Hurdle winner then running Faugheen to 1 1/2 lengths then he gets beat by 8 lengths now by 15lengths is there a pattern there? in between times he struggles to beat Monksland and many of his placed efforts there nothing of note behind just good horses in front.

I wouldn't base one single bet on Arctic Fire's form it's in and out as the weather in Largs
 
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Tanlic said:
Oh come on EC, One day he's getting stuffed by Irving the next he's beating a champion Hurdle winner then running Faugheen to 1 1/2 lengths then he gets beat by 8 lengths now by 15lengths is there a pattern there? in between times he struggles to beat Monksland and many of his placed efforts there nothing of note behind just good horses in front.

I wouldn't base one single bet on Arctic Fire's form it's in and out as the weather in Largs
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his form at 2 miles is consistent..thats only pattern i see.,,last run was a joke distance..at 2 miles he is very good marker
 
Why didn't Townend try and make the running with NC? I'm not saying this would've changed the result by any stretch of the imagination but that's how he's been seen at his best and would've put Ruby on the back foot a little.

Trainer orders?
 
I think the Dec race prob took a bit out of NC, best round Faugheen put in jumping wise.

They couldn't go with him.

Anyone doubting the talent he has, needs a good hard look at themselves
 
They seemed to be going at a decent lick as it was
If NC had set off any faster he'd have been beaten even further
 
TheBear said:
Why didn't Townend try and make the running with NC? I'm not saying this would've changed the result by any stretch of the imagination but that's how he's been seen at his best and would've put Ruby on the back foot a little.

Trainer orders?
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Fonz is right he would probably have been beaten even further but the other problem with the idea is Ruby doesn't seem to have a back foot when he's on any of the fantastic 4
 
fonz said:
They seemed to be going at a decent lick as it was
If NC had set off any faster he'd have been beaten even further
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they were going decently..all races today were well run affairs ,,they walked home in the mooches race..apart from A Toi Phils

todays % finishing efforts...100% about par

95.6DON'T TOUCH IT
105.5A TOI PHIL
94.6DOUVAN
84.9THE MOOCH
95.8FAUGHEEN
97.6BEARLY LEGAL

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Even positioning NC between the rail and Faugheen at the start would've given Ruby something to think about. A bit to much after you Claude for my liking.

As punters we can look elsewhere for a bet but Henderson for example has no other options for P&C and MTOY. He's got to seriously think about sacrificing one of his entries such as Top Notch to just bother Faugheen up front. Letting the race pan out as it did last year just leaves you with zero chance of victory
 
Faugheen proved today he can handle a decent pace though..in fact is better when its so..he won last years CH off a steady pace..he takes it whatever the pace imo..if someone puts one in there to bother him Ruby will just let Faugheen do his thing..i don't see how anyone can mess him up pace wise

best just to find a better horse than him..get it trained..and beat him

if P&C beats him i'll pack game in tbh
 
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Tanlic said:
Do you really think he is that good? I don't



Faugheen is very good but he is being flattered in these joke races.

Mark my words he won't find Peace and Co so obliging and he better bring his best game to the table.
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Faugheen could bring his C game to the table & still give Peace & Co a lesson. I'd be a lot more worried about MTOY & he hasn't raced in over a year.



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Combination of laying up and the hard race previously put paid to NC. He would have been spanked anyway. He had no need to lead NC, the pace was good enough.
AF was given a good ride for sure. Give yourself a chance. That was the best he could have achieved today. He'll be better at Cheltenham on better ground. Most likely to be staring up Faugheens rear again but every chance he will fill runner up spot again, even though he gets a bad press.
 
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Indeed. Time of 3m 54 sec was ten seconds faster than maiden hurdle.
NC jumped like a buck and did his best to put Faugheen to the sword.
The champ's only poorish jump was bunny hopping the last and indeed jumped better with company.
Expect Arctic Fire to be closer on better ground.
By the way Faugheen had no ear plugs visible today in parade ring at least.
The last Irish Champion winner to put such a field to the sword was Sizing Europe back in the day .
Hurricane Fly got the best cheer of the day and certainly looked up for any fight that might have come his way; LEGEND.
 
Kauto Abu said:
Faugheen could bring his C game to the table & still give Peace & Co a lesson. I'd be a lot more worried about MTOY & he hasn't raced in over a year.



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MTOY is a fully exposed hurdler who on the book has no chance of beating Faugheen and the chances he has improved a pound since he was beaten by Jezki are somewhere between nil and zero.

Peace and Co is at least unexposed so I will have my EW cash on him Thank you.

You know, Jonjo O'Neill once said when riding "you need to be 110% fit just to run in a Champion Hurdle let alone win one" so don't be talking silly about C games Kauto if he turns out any less than spot on he'll be beaten the same way he was last time.
 
Tanlic said:
MTOY is a fully exposed hurdler who on the book has no chance of beating Faugheen and the chances he has improved a pound since he was beaten by Jezki are somewhere between nil and zero.

Peace and Co is at least unexposed so I will have my EW cash on him Thank you.

You know, Jonjo O'Neill once said when riding "you need to be 110% fit just to run in a Champion Hurdle let alone win one" so don't be talking silly about C games Kauto if he turns out any less than spot on he'll be beaten the same way he was last time.
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I didn't say MTOY wins tanlic, Faugheen wins & wins easily. MTOY finishes ahead of Peace & Co tho everyday, even having been off the track a year or more. P&C narrowly won the worst Triumph in years last year, he doesn't settle and gets lit up in his races. I don't need to tell you that tho, the evidence is there for everyone to see.

Faugheen wins as he likes, Artic Fire will follow him home & the tent to follow in 3rd.




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The worst Triumph in years.....Ridiculous statement:blink:.

Ratings after winning the Triumph Hurdle

Peace and Co 159

Tiger Roll 147

Our Conor 161

Countryside Flame 152

Zarkandar 154

Soldatino 148

Zaynar 154

Celestial Halo 150

Katchit 159


Only the brilliant Our Conor has been rated higher in recent years and Katchit who was rated the same as Peace and Co went on to win the Champion Hurdle had exactly the same rating when beating Punjabi who also won a Champion Hurdle.
 
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The fact none of the 1st 3 home in the Triumph have not won since, despite have 8 different racecourse outings between them, tells you all you need to know about last years Triumph Hurdle. A poor batch of juveniles.


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My take with P&C was that he looked the type who a Champion Hurdle (fast pace, good ground) would bring the best out of. Still have that hope.
 
To put it into perspective, Faugheen had an OR of 174 before yesterday's race. You'd have thought that thrashing a 166 Arctic Fire would give him a couple more. Highest career ratings for a few others:
176 Istabraq
175 Hurricane Fly
172 Binocular

Faugheen is a seriously good horse who would more than likely beat P&C even if the latter improved by a stone from his current mark.
 
Tanlic said:
Well that shows what rating are worth. Take a peak at a real Champion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3pVZNvrOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rUaQaY_Lqw

After you have come back and tell me Faugheen deserves to be on the same mark as Istabraq.
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Istabraq beat 162 rated theatreworld 12 lengths Faugheen beat 166 rated hoss by 15....with the RP comment..easily.

that adds up to Istabraq = 174..Faugheen = 181

not really seeing what you have proved tbh showing the clip

If Istabraq had won by 15 yesterday..it would have been..ooh he's greatest ever

I'm not really fussed if Faugheen isn't as good as Istabraq..but to ignore his win yesterday is just plain daftness to me
 
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